North Korea no longer interested in engaging with US, says Singapore foreign minister

North Korea currently appears unwilling to engage with the United States or South Korea and is instead focusing on strengthening self-reliance and military deterrence, Singapore’s Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said following a recent visit to Pyongyang.

At the same time, Balakrishnan said Pyongyang now categorically rejects the possibility of reunification with South Korea, according to Singapore broadcaster Channel NewsAsia.

He said North Korea’s stance appears to have hardened in recent years, although he noted there could be domestic political reasons behind the shift.

Balakrishnan also noted Pyongyang has undergone visible economic development despite years of international isolation and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Describing the North Korean capital as “a clean, modern, well-organized, well-planned city,” he said new housing estates and urban development projects reflected signs of continued economic progress since his last visit eight years ago.

“People are busy getting on with their lives,” he said, adding that Pyongyang resembled “any modern city throughout Southeast Asia, or even Northeast Asia.”

Singapore hosted the first summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in 2018. The two leaders later met in Hanoi and at the Korean Demilitarized Zone in 2019 as part of negotiations over North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

However, negotiations between Pyongyang and Washington have largely stalled since 2019, and Trump has not met Kim during his second term.